From now unto forever
by santana the strange
Summary: Romeo and Juliet met in preschool, and they did not get along. Due to their arguments and Romeo's picking on little Juliet, the Montague and the Capulet family turned against each other. This is the story of what happens when they meet at a Sadie Hawkins dance, between their two private schools. Juliet has asked Paris to accompany her, her friend Rosaline has Romeo.
1. Chapter 1

Many years ago:

'_Come now Juliet you will enjoy preschool,' Lady Capulet told her five year old daughter as she tried to pry her from her leg. 'Now please let go of my leg,' she said in such a stern voice that Juliet automatically let go and began to cry._

_ 'Mommy,' she cried, her little fists balling to her eyes. She had never been parted from her mother and she didn't want to be now. 'M-mommy I don't want to go,' she said, trying to cling to Lady Capulet once more, but the mother had already left. And there Juliet sat, crying, and not knowing what else to do. She didn't know enough about preschool to know what was to be expected of her._

_ 'Look the Capulet daughter is a cry baby,' a male voice rang out, a very clever male voice and she turned to see who had spoken. Her baby blue eyes took in a golden haired, pale, blue eyed boy of approximately the same age as her. 'You just gonna sit there and cry Juliet?' He asked nastily and she wondered why he was being so mean to her. Juliet didn't think she'd ever done anything to harm him; after all their parents were best friends. But this was the first time she had ever seen him._

_ 'Romeo,' she muttered beneath her breath. Of course, The Montague's only son would be beautiful, but who knew that he would be so cruel. As Juliet twirled a lock a midnight black hair around her finger she got up from the floor and wiped her eyes dry. She had decided that she would not cry in front of this little boy. He would not let him hurt her; after all he was nothing to her, not a friend, not an acquaintance. He was nothing. And she would treat him as such._

_ 'Now, now children play nicely,' a loving female voice spoke out and Juliet looked up to see Nurse. Her nurse had come with her to preschool? What luck!_

_ 'Okay,' Juliet replied, with no intention of being nice to this Romeo and made her way over to the toy box where she hoped there would be a Barbie doll for her to play with. She liked Barbie. Her whole room was covered with Barbie dolls and she thought that perhaps if she had a Barbie to play with then she would be able to behave and not feel the urge to punch little Romeo Montague in the face._

_ However things would not always go to plan, for as soon as she picked up the blonde and way too skinny doll, and started to dress her Romeo came along and took the doll from her. _

_ 'Hey that's my Barbie, what you want with her, you're a boy, and you don't need her!' Juliet exclaimed, fighting back the tears she knew were coming. How dare he take things from her after he had just been nasty to her? Surely Nurse would come along and tell him off for being nasty. After all she was her friend._

_ Romeo did not reply and before she could stop he had ran off with the doll in hand, towards the toy workshop bench. What did he want with her? Before long her question was answered when Romeo placed Barbie on the bench in front of the toy band saw and pressed the button. Juliet being only five truly thought he was going to cut her dolly in half. _

_ 'No, don't Romeo that's my dolly,' she cried out, and tried to push him out of the way to get to her toy, but he only pushed her back, so hard that she fell to her back on the floor with a thud. And although it was made of foam alphabet puzzle pieces, Juliet still began to cry. 'Why are you so mean to me Romeo?' she asked as tears fell like twin waterfalls down her cheeks. This was the second time she had been made to cry today, and the first she could forgive because it was her mom, but Romeo she could not forgive._

_ 'You're a girl Juliet, you're weak and stupid,' he told her and when the band saw didn't work he began hammering the Barbie into different shapes. When Juliet tried to stop him, he hit her on the head with the toy hammer. This time she would not cry, she wanted to show him that she was not weak or stupid! She was in fact very clever for her age, or so her father had said, and he didn't often give out compliments so he must have meant it. _

_ 'Well you're a smelly boy,' she replied and smacked him in the face. Truth be told he didn't seem to like that, and he was the one who started to cry and hold his little red cheek, but Juliet didn't care, she just took her Barbie and left to go play. She hoped Nurse wouldn't say anything as it was Romeo who had started everything by taking her toy away from her._

That was the first time Juliet Capulet had ever met Romeo Montague, and after their fight the rest of the day had seemed to go smoothly as they ignored each other, perhaps Romeo hadn't wanted another indignant slap across his face. However when the end of the day came both Juliet and Romeo raced to their mother and father, telling them how nasty the other had been to them.

Juliet remembered how the two families had argued that their children should not be nasty to each other, her own mother asking Lady Montague how she could have raised a son who didn't have an ounce of gentlemanly courtesy in him to not hit a little girl. Lady Montague had fired back asking why Juliet didn't act more like a Lady instead of manly.

That had been the comment to end the argument. Lady Capulet could not stand to have her only daughter be so insulted in such a manner that she and Lord Capulet declared hatred for the Montague family and, later on, Juliet had come to realise that it was more than just hate. The two families had declared war upon one another. A war that would continue on, well into Juliet's own teenage years.


	2. Juliet is expected by her father

Present day

'Hey Juliet what are you doing this summer?' Her best friend Rosaline asked as she rolled over on the bed next to Juliet's. They had been best friends ever since Juliet had been sent to this god forsaken Private school. Her parents had said something about her being safer here, away from the war between their family and the Montague family. A war she whole heartedly blamed Romeo for starting. If that little boy had been raised to respect little girls then nothing bad would have ever happened, and Romeo and Juliet would have probably become best friends.

'Well my parents are thinking about taking me on holiday to Verona, I haven't been there since before I could remember,' Juliet said, speaking of the place of which she was born. She wished she could speak fondly of the Italian city, yet she did not have any memories of being there. This summer she fully intended to make some.

'That is so cool, I wish I could go to Verona too,' Rosaline spoke so wistfully that Juliet smiled. Rosaline's family was not as wealthy as the Capulet family and she had never been to Verona. And as Juliet watched her friend snag a travel catalogue from her bedside table she thought of asking her parents if her friend could come too. She knew they'd say yes, after all what was Juliet to do in Verona with no girl her own age to speak to?

'I will speak to my father Rosa, perhaps he will allow another seat on the plane,' she said and when Rosaline jumped off her bed and swung her arms around Juliet she felt like the greatest friend that any girl could ever have.

'You're serious? Oh thank you, thank you Juliet,' Rosaline said and Juliet smiled. If she could pick anyone to make memories with in Verona it would be this beautiful and caring woman. Standing at five foot eight, Rosaline was blessed with golden locks, baby blue eyes and the palest of pink lips. She had a figure that even Juliet would kill for: ample chest, and an hour glass waist. She was perfect; no wonder many of the boys from Beacon had begged her for a date.

Beton, even the thought of that school name would make Juliet angry, Beacon preparatory was the school that Romeo Montague attended and at sixteen he was rumoured to be one of the most talented quarterback players on their entire school team. Of course Paris Davidson was, in truth, no rumours attached the most talented quarterback player.

At Bearmine prep Juliet and Rosaline were tied for best players at the schools own special sport: netball. Originally an English sport, the school had adopted it as it made them stand out from all the other prep schools and high schools around, but they hadn't had any matches with other schools in the beginning. This meant that when they did, they were all more trained in the sport than their opposition; that must be the reason that Bearmine always won.

'So Juliet if you could pick any of the quarterbacks from Beton prep who would you choose?' Rosaline asked suddenly and Juliet shrugged, even though she knew without a doubt which one she would pick. 'Okay how about I give you a choice: Romeo or Paris?' she asked and at his name Juliet wanted to punch something.

'Definitely not Romeo,' Juliet said her tone full of all kinds of hostility. She had never once told Rosaline about her history with the Montague boy, and never would. 'Paris,' she reluctantly admitted, but she couldn't help it. She just loved his chocolate brown hair, and his eyes that seemed to be black but which were in fact just a very dark brown. He was perfect, and she would have him one day. He was as handsome and as rich as any woman could stand. If she didn't make the first move, then her father would. He had always been talking about having her marry a handsome man from a rich family and the Davidson's were almost as rich as her family.

'You like Paris hey?' Rosaline asked as she seated herself on the bed beside Juliet, they shared a room and a dorm. 'Well I guess the dark brooding type can be very mysterious and alluring, but personally I prefer the fair looks with eyes so blue that they look as deep and as endless as the ocean,' she sighed and Juliet could only wonder what type of male that her BFF was talking of.

'No I do not like Paris in that way, I hardly know him, and secondly the man you speak of does not exist,' she pointed out and Rosa sighed.

'He exists in my mind, purely for me,' she announced and Juliet giggled contagiously, and before she knew what was going on the two of them were rolling around on the bed in hysterics. Sometimes Rosa could just be so funny, it hurt.

They'd barely finished and caught their breaths again when there came a knock on the door.

'Enter,' Juliet called out and the matron of their dormitory entered the room, a look of concern and panic on her face. 'Good Nurse, whatever is the matter?' Juliet asked as she got up from the bed and went to greet her childhood nanny. The nanny that her mother had paid the prep school to instil as the matron of Juliet's dormitory. Needless to say, Juliet and her friend got away with almost every crime heard of.

'Your father he calls for you,' Nurse informed her and her chest rose and fell so unsteadily that Juliet thought her friend would pass out from fear. 'He is here, in the study downstairs,' she added and it was Juliet's turn to fear. What was he doing here? After she'd been bought to the prep school just after the incident at kindergarten he hadn't come to see her once during term time, having told her that her studies were just too important for him to interrupt, so what was he doing here, hours after her last class?

'Do you know what he wants of me?' Juliet asked to which Nurse shook her head.

'He spoke only of the matter having something to do with your trip to Verona in the summer,' Nurse replied and Juliet held her breath fearing he meant to cancel the trip and leave her in the dorms as he had last year. 'I think you should hurry, it would be in your best interests to get their quickly, you know how your father feels of lateness,' she advised and Juliet, dressed in a beautiful white dress exited the room and made her way to the headmaster's own study.


	3. Chapter 3

'Father, wants to see me?' Juliet asked of herself as she made her way down to the study where he waited for her. 'What is so important he wants to see me now?' she wondered what he wanted.

'Juliet,' her father said, and she wondered if he had been able to hear her as she'd spoken to herself down this long corridor to the study. 'Come in, quickly,' he said and when she did he dragged her in by her arm and slammed the door behind her.

'Good afternoon father, was there something you wanted to see me about?' She asked politely, and he nodded his head. And before her eyes, he took on a serious and businessman like aura. And as he took the seat behind the desk she could swear she was looking at Lord Capulet, not just her father. This was how he'd always looked when taking business meetings at home in his own study. She recalled enough from her childhood. Juliet had never seen much of her father as a child, so when he was at home in the study she would peek through the door, if only to get a look at him. 'There was indeed, please Juliet take a seat,' father said motioning towards one of the arm chairs beside the large bookcase that took up one whole side of the room. 'You recall our trip to Verona in the summer, the one we've got planned?' he asked and she nodded.

'Of course father, I have waited years to visit the city,' she replied and at that he smiled and began to relax. Juliet had always known that she was the cause of her father's greatest joy and that he would care for her like no other. And though he was old, with very little hair, and with a rounded belly she could not wish for a better father. With those piercing blue eyes, so like hers, he could divine anything in her expression. There were times when Juliet would liken herself to a book to him, because he seemed to be able to read her like one.

'Well daughter, I…I see that you are at a very beautiful age, and I have decided that you should be married soon,' her father told her and she gasped, before her brow crinkled in confusion.

'What does this have to do with Verona?' she asked, wondering what her father had in store for her on this holiday.

'Well it has come to my attention that there is a very smart and athletic young man in the male boarding school quite close, a Paris Davidson. He is from a very wealthy family and he seems to be on the track to being a very rich individual. He plays football better than any I have ever seen, and he seems quite modest too. Juliet I have spoken with this Paris and his family and we have come to an agreement that, if he can win your heart over the summer in Verona then you shall be married in the coming year,' her father said, and Juliet was so happy she could almost squeal. Paris didn't need to try too hard to win her heart, it was already half his, she'd been ceding it to him since she was fourteen.

However instead of telling him that, she decided to make a bargain with the business man.

'Father if Paris is coming then I want my friend Rosaline to come, after all if I do fall in love with him or get confused about what I feel for him I'm going to need a girl my own age who I trust to talk to about it,' Juliet said and at her words he seemed to be mulling the bargain over.

'Of course she may come Juliet. Oh and one other thing. Paris is having a game in a few days. Your mother, Tybalt and I will be attending this game, we expect you to come to. After all you can meet with Paris and get to know him before we leave the following day for Verona,' he said and she nodded. Could anyone have a better father than she?

'Of course I will come father I'd like nothing more,' Juliet said and he smiled at her.

'You are such a good daughter Juliet, you hate my enemies, and you are willing to give a shot at marrying into my friend's family,' as he spoke Capulet got up from his seat behind the desk and made his way towards her. 'I couldn't have asked for a better daughter,' he said as he took her hands in his and pulled her to her feet so that he could hug her.

Juliet had always loved hugs with her rounded father, for they were always warm and always made her feel safe. Like nothing could ever harm her…


	4. Pre game

'What am I to wear?' Juliet asked of her best friend Rosaline, the day of Paris's big match. She stood in the middle of her room surrounded by all the clothes she owned in her wardrobe. 'I have nothing good enough,' she pouted and Rosaline came over to stand by her side.

'I'm sure there is something in that pile you just didn't look at properly,' Rosaline advised soothingly and Juliet's brows crinkled as she looked up with a confused expression. 'Really,' Rose replied, seeing the question hidden in the expression.

And so Juliet dug through the huge piles of clothes, looking for something she might have missed before. She was still busy throwing clothes over her shoulder that she didn't notice when Nurse entered the room.

'Juliet,' Nurse called softly through to her and the young woman looked up to see her oldest and most dearest friend standing there, holding a large box in one hand and a slightly smaller box in the other hand. 'I have a gift here for you from your father, he hopes that you will wish to wear them for the game tonight. So in other words I suggest you do so as not to herald anything bad from your father.' That was just the thing about Lord Capulet. If Juliet behaved and did as he asked her to, then she would be his little angel, his little princess, but as soon as she thought to defy him she would be out casted, ostracised and forsaken by her own family.

'Yes, sweet Nurse,' Juliet said, gratefully taking the items. 'After all I did not have anything else appropriate enough to wear for the game tonight.' When Juliet peered inside the largest box she found that her father had developed a sense of tasted and an eye for fashion, for what lay in the box was the most beautiful pale white gypsy styled dress that Juliet had ever seen. Its sleeves were long and flowing; it buttoned up to just under her full breasts and came to rest just above her knees. There was of course a pair of skinny jeans to accompany the dress.

'Ooh let's see,' Rosaline demanded curiously, as was her nature, and so Juliet dressed in the most beautiful outfit she had ever laid eyes on. 'Oh my god, that's just, it's just gorgeous, and it totally compliments your dark complexion and your black hair,' she went on to gush and Juliet smiled. It was indeed perfect!

'Don't forget your shoes Miss,' Nurse reminded her and Juliet turned to the other box that her friend carried. Taking it she discovered it held a pair of what Juliet and Rosaline could only describe as cowboy boots. They seemed odd against the jeans and the gypsy dress but they actually looked great once Juliet put them on. 'Your father suggests you embrace your ancestors' clothing style. As much as he is a man, he was right when he said that you would look great in their clothing,' she finished and Juliet smiled as she put them on.

'Let's go then,' Juliet said as she grabbed Rosaline's hand and tugged her towards the door. She couldn't wait to "meet" Paris.

'Hey Ben, throw me a towel,' Romeo called out to his cousin as he came out of the shower, wearing a towel round his waist and needing one to dry his hair with. Benvolio looked up to see his cousin and threw him the nearest towel.

'I still don't see why you insist on showering before every game,' he replied, puzzled by the action. 'You're just going to get dirty out there again.'

'My good, good friend Benvolio, what you don't understand is that Romeo showers before every match because he wants to smell good for the other boys,' Romeo's worst enemy, and rival for a scholarship spoke as he popped his head round the locker door. Paris Davidson, how Romeo wished the male had never been born. He made Romeo's life hell and loved to spread the untrue rumour that Romeo Montague was gay.

'Oh shut up Paris,' Romeo snapped as he got dressed for the game and shot the rich ponce a dirty look. 'You know for a fact that I am not interested in men, but perhaps you wish that I was.' Tit for tat; if Paris was going to call him a gay then he would return the favour.

'Oh sure, that's totally why I am meeting with Capulet's only daughter today on legal matters of marriage,' Paris retorted and Romeo stopped short in the process of dressing and looked at Paris with disgust. He could not believe that he and the ponce had once upon a time been best friends. He definitely would not have befriended him if he'd known that Paris was a good friend of the Capulet family.

'You are going to wed Juliet Capulet?' Romeo asked and when Paris nodded he sneered. 'Good luck with that mate,' he finished, causing his cousin and his rival to stop what they were doing and question him.

'What do you speak of Cousin Romeo?' Benvolio asked curiously whilst Paris stood beside him nodding his agreement.

'I have known of Juliet Capulet and her family since I was a very young lad and trust me Juliet is as bitchy and as spoilt as any of the rest of her family. She has an ego complex and is an insufferable daddy's girl,' Romeo informed them and when they bared batted an eyelid he continued. 'She's the reason for the war between our two families and is the cause of many of the deaths that my family have suffered these past years.'

'Was she the cause of my sister's death?' Benvolio asked and Romeo nodded. Catherine had been killed in the crossfire between Tybalt's gun and Max's gun, and Romeo had unfortunately been there to witness the event.

'Tybalt was the owner of the gun that slew her,' Romeo announced and the two men gasped. Tybalt was Juliet's favourite and only cousin. And as Romeo had always wondered they too began to wonder: had Juliet asked Tybalt to kill Catherine to spit the Montague family, but mostly Romeo?

'Wow, I had not expected to hear something like that about someone I considered to be sweet,' Paris said just as the coach came and called them out to the pitch.


	5. During the game

As the boys took to the pitch for the beginning of the game Juliet sat there with her family and sighed over Paris; he was just as beautiful as she remembered. Beside her on her left sat her father and on the right to her sat her cousin Tybalt. The teenage boy was amazing, they had grown up together after his mother had died and Juliet had always loved him. They were closer than cousins, best friends many would say and Tybalt would do anything for his slightly younger cousin. In fact he had taken part in the war between the two families to fight for Juliet's dignity and to put right the rumours the spiteful Romeo Montague had spread about her. Tybalt wished Romeo dead and it was no secret to Juliet, for she recognised familiar wants in her kinsman as she did herself. The earth should not have to suffer Romeo's plight.

'Do we expect a fight this eve?' Tybalt whispered to his cousin, out of earshot of his uncle and adopted father Lord Capulet. In response Juliet shrugged, but nodded her head in thought. There was always to be some kind of disagreement between the two families whenever their children clashed.

'I do not know cousin, but I hope you came armed all the same,' Juliet whispered back even as she patted the small dagger located in the under wire of the middle of her bra. Yes she had a gun at her thigh but if she were to bring death to Romeo, were she that lucky, she wished for it to be close and personal just as he'd always made the war. His death would be hate-filled passion on her part as she plunged that dagger right into his frozen heart. A heart she was surprised he even possessed and one she was shocked to find actually beat.

'I go to school with the prick Juliet, I'm always armed and ready,' Tybalt said and she looked up to see his chocolate brown hair slicked back in an Elvis style or such things. Tanned darkly and born in the same place as she was Tybalt could very well have been Juliet's twin brother had they been born from the same woman at the same time.

'As am I,' she replied and when Paris scored for his team she cheered before turning back to her cousin. 'Do you think they wanna roll?' she asked, drawing his attention to the black teenager across from them, who was staring daggers at them, and probably had been staring daggers at them

since they'd sat down.

'Mercutio!' Tybalt growled and reached for the gun on his waist band. 'If they have bought him here then they surely mean to rumble, Benvolio, Mercutio and Romeo all in the same place at the same time? This cannot be a coincidence, they mean to get revenge for Catherine.' As he spoke she heard the regret in Tybalt's voice. Known only between the two of them, Tybalt and Catherine had dated and Juliet had considered them true love when she'd seen them around. She'd gotten in the way of Tybalt and Max's gun and Tybalt couldn't pull back the bullet that had already escaped the barrel of his gun.

'Do not worry cousin, if they come for you I will fight beside you.' Juliet wasn't just any ordinary rich Venice woman, no Juliet was an obstinate woman who loved to fight for what she thought was right. Yes her parents had forbade her get involved with the war lest she meet death, but she cared not, the war had begun because of her and Romeo and would end only when one or the other was dead.

'I would expect nothing more Juliet,' Tybalt replied and when Juliet nodded she turned her attention back to Paris as her cousin shot dirty looks at Mercutio. Juliet knew of Tybalt's unconditional hatred for the man, and knew he wanted him dead just as much as Juliet wanted Romeo dead. What Juliet didn't know, was the reasoning behind it however. But this was Tybalt, he would never try and kill a man he didn't have a reason to hate.

The game had started and ended faster than she could blink and as her father took her arm and escorted her to the location of Paris, Mercutio and Tybalt had begun a fight in the stands. A fight she was determined to be a part of...


	6. Juliet's battle

'Come Juliet, Paris is most excited to meet you tonight,' Lord Capulet informed her, Juliet his own daughter who was more concerned with the fight in the stands between the rival families than she was of her own suitor. She couldn't and would not leave Tybalt to fight against three of the Montague gang all by himself, she would not leave him helpless.

'But father Tybalt is fighting the Montague all by himself, he needs my help,' Juliet announced and watched as her father looked behind them and into the stands, with no more concern than he'd have if he was watching a gang scene on a film.

'Tybalt is more than capable of fighting Romeo all by himself,' Lord Capulet spoke and in his tone there was so much faith for Tybalt that she had to know she was hearing wrong. Tybalt was strong but there was no way he could fight three men all at once and walk away, not when they were as blood thirsty as the ones he fought at present. The ones she should be fighting.

'Father, I will not leave him to fight all by himself, just so you can introduce me to a suitor. Tybalt is family, he is like a brother to me and I will not stand by and watch as the Montague family take yet again something precious from me,' Juliet argued and tore herself from the hold he had on her upper arm.

'What will Paris think?' Capulet asked and she shrugged, if she knew the teenager well she would know that he would find her love for her family incredible.

'I have to do what I have to do father, this was my battle and only recently has it turned to Tybalt too, I do not want him fighting a battle, a war that he did not begin, just to appease me and my reputation,' she finished and before he could say another word she rushed to the stands, her gun and dagger armed and at the ready. Mayhap this night would bring her the heart of Romeo, his beating heart in her tight fist, that was.

'Juliet!' Tybalt called out when he spotted her at the end of the stands making her way to him, he gave her a nod and a conspicuous smile, he knew she would never let him down and Juliet was glad that they had that kind of familiar bond. 'So nice of you to join us,' he said with a smile as he threw her yet another gun and she moved her dagger from her darkly olive hands to her blood red lips, painted darker specifically for this night, for the meek teenager Paris. She hadn't expected to come face to face with Romeo this night after so many months apart.

'Juliet Capulet we meet again,' Romeo said as he withdrew his own dagger and threw it at her, skilfully she managed to dodge out of the way, thank god for ballet lessons and threw her own dagger. It hit him in the shin and when blood began to pour from the open flesh wound she could not help but the maniacal laugh that escaped from her throat.

'Why yes we do little Romeo Montague, you may think you have more men and therefore are stronger than us today, but know this you will never win, you will never beat me,' Juliet sneered and as he reached down to staunch the flow of crimson Juliet withdrew her guns and pointed them both at Romeo's ugly blonde head. 'Tonight is the night that you die little Montague,' she informed him as she shot him in his other shin, rolled past him, grabbing her dagger as she did so and when she stood she grabbed Romeo by the shoulders and held the blade at his throat.

'Not as far as I am concerned.' Juliet looked up at the voice of yet another Montague and saw that Benvolio had her cousin Tybalt in the same position that she had Romeo. And as she pressed the blade of her dagger closer to his neck, Benvolio did the same. 'Will you sacrifice your own cousin just to kill mine?' Benvolio had issues with Tybalt for the woman that Juliet's cousin had loved and accidentally killed had been Ben's very own sister. He would not hesitate to kill Tybalt, just as she would not hesitate to kill Romeo. But at that moment in time it seemed as though they had come across an impasse for neither would allow their flesh and blood to die, for it was all that remained of their family.

'Do it, kill him,' Tybalt sneered his throat moving against Benvolio's blade as he spoke. 'Do it and end the war, you will never want for anything more.' Yet again Tybalt was standing up for Juliet, was willing to risk his life so that she could have a better one.

'No, Tybalt you are as a brother to me, I will not have you die tonight,' Juliet said and removed her blade from Romeo to push him forward, his head hitting the stands and the strike causing him to become unconscious.

'And there was me thinking you were an amoral woman Juliet,' the voice did not come from Benvolio but from a man behind her. The man was, as she turned to see, Paris. 'I don't know anyone who would rather free their cousin than kill their lifelong enemy.'

'Excuse me, how do you know of the Montague and the Capulet war?' Juliet asked, her eyebrows furrowed, and her nostrils flaring in arousal as she scented the beautiful smell of pine and wood, the woods. The woods she longed to stay in, to wander in and spend her time there, among the trees, the wild flower and the waterfall with its beautifully clear lake below it.

'Who does not know of your war?' Paris asked and she nodded, yes indeed, of course.

'I am sorry that you had to see me like that Paris,' Juliet apologised as she curtseyed as she had always been taught, for one day she would become a lady. She would be Lady Capulet, by maiden name and Lady Davidson by his, if she had her way.

'Not at all Juliet, we men do like a woman with fire in her belly,' he announced and she blushed a deep scarlet. 'Always fight for what you want and what you believe in, do not allow others to nay-say you or tell you that you ought to be more feminine. I like you just the way you are, bloodied and all,' Paris said and when she looked behind him she saw her father wore one of the most relieved expressions she had ever come across in her time.

'Well me boy,' Capulet began. 'How's about that trip to Venice I have planned for the holidays, are you still up for the journey?' He asked and the wealthy teenager nodded his handsomely dark head.

'Of course Lord Capulet I would love nothing more than to spend as much time as is possible with your beautiful and highly passionate daughter,' Paris said taking her hand and kissing the top of it oh so very gently. This was what she wanted, Juliet decided then. She wanted a gentleman, a man away from all the fighting and the blood, she wanted Paris and now she knew why.


End file.
